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City MP meets the PM to rule out a ‘no-deal’

Tonight city MP Stephen Morgan joined other parliamentarians from across the House in meeting the Prime Minister encouraging her Government to rule out a Brexit “no-deal”.

The important meeting, chaired by Labour’s Jack Dromey MP and the Conservatives’ Dame Caroline Spelman MP, followed a letter to the PM earlier this week signed by over 218 MPs from all major political parties.

Under a no deal, UK GDP would be 2.1% lower by 2020 than if the UK secured a deal and transition period. It is also estimated that it would deliver a shock equivalent to losing some 39,000 jobs across the counties of Hampshire and Sussex and some 43,000 of the jobs held by residents, according to research by the UK Trade Policy Observatory.

Speaking after MPs quizzed Theresa May, Stephen Morgan MP said:

“No Government has the right to plunge the country into chaos because of its own failed negotiations. A no-deal Brexit would be catastrophic for Portsmouth jobs, the nation’s economy, and for the border in Northern Ireland.

There is no majority in Parliament for crashing out of the EU without a deal – and this week’s letter and tonight’s important meeting reflects the strength of feeling among MPs about this issue across the House of Commons.

I’ve been listening very carefully to what people in Portsmouth have been saying. Whether people voted leave or remain, no one voted to be poorer as a result of Brexit. All the analysis I’ve seen points to our economy losing out and thousands of job losses.

I will continue to put party politics aside for the sake of our country. I will work across Parliament to try and prevent ‘no deal’, including supporting relevant amendments to the Finance Bill”.

Mr Morgan was the only MP from the region who attended the summit with the PM. Later this week he is meeting businesses to hear their concerns over a no-deal, following a similar meeting with the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce in Portsmouth last week.